FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT CAT OWNERS - PAGE 3

A Slatington reader writes: "Last September I tried feeding birds for the first time. I bought a hanging feeder and attached a tray feeder to a tree just outside the kitchen window. I filled the tubes with sunflower seeds and used a commercial mix at the tray. Within a week I had nuthatches, chickadees, house finches, woodpeckers and some others but then I began finding feathers around the feeder a dead birds in the yard a couple times a week. As I work I wasn't home during the day and didn't immediately notice my neighbor's cats had also found the feeder.

Q: I enjoyed your column on dog food ingredients and wondered if you could touch on cat food ingredients as well. In addition to our dog we have two cats and a few strays. I would like them to have the right food, too, but I don't know how a cat's needs differ from a dog's. - Jane Lefever, Mechanicsburg A: Several cat owners wrote asking for similar guidance on cat foods, which are every bit as confusing as dog foods. Attractive packaging, discount prices and claims of "natural" and "balanced" nutrition often lead to poor choices that can put kitty's health and longevity at risk.

Allentown City Councilwoman Emma Tropiano is trying to strengthen the city's animal control laws by proposing that all animals on city streets be leashed. The measure, which will be before the council's Public Safety Committee Monday night, came from a discovery that Allentown doesn't have a leash law. Although the city does have an ordinance prohibiting owners letting their animals run free in city parks, it doesn't pertain to city streets. "Why not in the city where it's more important?"

Emmaus' proposed ordinance restricting roaming kitties has created a game of cat and mouse between residents. Council President Richard Keim last night announced that residents who have concerns about a borough law that would prohibit cats from running at large can air their concerns at a special public hearing at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 in Borough Hall. Under the ordinance, residents whose cats would not be registered with the borough or whose pets are caught running at large could face fines.

Along the sink in our bathroom is a faded gold plastic cup, emblazoned with "U.S. Naval Academy," a picture of the Navy's goat mascot, and the words "GO NAVY!" I got this fine collectible at the Lehigh-Navy football game about 14 years ago, when I bought a soda. I've been using it as my personal bathroom water glass ever since, as a symbol of my support for our armed services. I fill my Navy cup with water before I go to bed, and then if I happen to get up during the night, I can get a drink without fumbling with the tap or a paper cup dispenser.

You've heard of a pup tent. But a cat tent? Yes, a cat tent. You can get one at the Meow Meow Cat Lover's Emporium in New Hope, where cat owners have been buying gifts for themselves and their kitty companions since 1988. To make it clear that this tent is not for, say, a small dog, the cat tent at Meow Meow is decorated with lots of little drawings of cats. "No dogs allowed" this little tent seems to be saying. Or possibly the popular phrase, "Cats rule, dogs drool." Meow Meow co-owner Jordan Geltzer of Allentown, N.J., says the little tent might not appeal to all cats.

Flashback, a successful ad campaign: An orange alley cat lies across a living room floor somewhere in middle-America, his tail twitching behind him. In the next room, his owner pries open a can of cat food, then calls to him: "Morris, it's time for din-din." "Huh," Morris says to himself as his woefully naive owner spoons mystery meat into a bowl. "Time for my finicky routine." People like these commercials. And with good reason. Because with this commercial, for one glorious prime-time minute, people get to see what's happening inside a cat's mind.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and the crowded auditorium was getting warmer by the minute as the contestants were getting more finicky. But it was the big moment for Darth Vader, C.M.P. Kleiner, Phoebe, Bandit and Delilah. The problem was Darth Vader and gang didn't seem to care too much about the shiny trophies and colorful ribbons displayed on a folding table just a leap away from their cages. Some of them didn't care much either for the gentle gray-haired man in a white laboratory jacket who patted and petted and sweet-talked them and held them high up in the air for the audience.

Edward Lowe, whose accidental discovery of a product he called Kitty Litter made cats more welcome household company and created a half billion dollar industry, died Wednesday in a hospital in Sarasota, Fla. He was 75 and had divided his time between homes in Arcadia, Fla., and Cassopolis, Mich. His son Tom said the cause was complications from surgery for cerebral hemorrhage. Cats have been domesticated since ancient Egypt, but until a fateful January day in 1947, those who kept them indoors full-time paid a heavy price.

By Karen Steinrock Special to The Morning Call - Freelance | January 9, 2004

Dear Karen: Can you tell me if milk, the kind you buy at the supermarket, kills or harms cats? I am a retired senior citizen living in an apartment and have been feeding several stray cats (so do my neighbors). I give them milk rather than water with their food, and was told "milk will kill them." They seem to ignore water, so one night I put out a bowl of milk also and they went right for it -- even ignoring the canned food until the milk was gone. I enjoy watching these cats -- sometimes they bring "guests" for dinner.